top entrepreneurs under 40: Elizabeth Showers, 32, The

D Magazine, Jan 01, 2004 by McGahey, Marion, Slonecker, Troy

Elizabeth Showers, 32

ELIZABETH SHOWERS

If taking a risk is a common theme in entrepreneurs, tales, Elizabeth Showers' plunge was exceptionally deep. At 24, after the SMU grad took a course in jewelry making and made three pieces-a necklace, bracelet, and anklet-she quit her sales job, became a waitress, and financed her new jewelry-design business with 12 credit cards. "I had been exposed to entrepreneurs who had started their own businesses by making products at home and selling those products to retailers," she explains. "It motivated me to do my own thing." She doesn't think she evolved into a serious entrepreneur until two years ago, and when it comes to mapping out a business strategy (something she wishes she'd done a bit earlier), she quotes Jim Collins' Good to Great: "Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right positions." She advises aspiring entrepreneurs to "avoid mis-hires and hire as many A-players as possible." That, as well as cultivating a fun, energizing workplace for her employees, has done wonders for her business. Her workshop and offices are in a large space in the Design District, and her delicate designs are sold in the pinnacles of national jewelry retail-Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Transtations-and have been featured in In Style, Cosmopolitan, and Elle.